


I Knead U Bad (An Everlark Valentine’s Day Drabble)

by hutchabelle



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 19:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8025883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hutchabelle/pseuds/hutchabelle
Summary: Twelve-year-old Katniss Everdeen hates Valentine's Day until Peeta Mellark makes sure she knows how much he likes her.





	I Knead U Bad (An Everlark Valentine’s Day Drabble)

**Author's Note:**

> This drabble was written for the Love in Panem challenge on tumblr.

“Are you ready to go, Katniss?” Prim asked in her soft, childlike voice. “We’re going to be late to school and Mrs. Hawthorne said we have to wait until the end of the day to hand out Valentine’s Day cards if we’re not there before school starts. I don’t want to miss any of the party, and I don’t want to hold onto them all day. What if I lose them? Come on, Katniss!”

 

Prim’s voice rose with each word until she was nearly hysterical as she stomped her small foot. Amused but stoic, Katniss stared at her younger sister as if she’d sprouted a second head.

 

“Okay, Prim. Calm yourself. It’s just Valentine’s Day. You’re seven. It’s not like today determines your love life for your entire existence.”

 

“Just because you don’t believe in love doesn’t mean the rest of the world is unromantic. Why do you have to be so grouchy all the time anyway? You could at least get excited about chocolate.”

 

“I don’t know if you know this, but Valentine’s Day parties when you’re twelve aren’t nearly as exciting as in the younger grades. Enjoy your kid stuff while you can. Next year I’m going to be in junior high, and I’ll have to endure a parade of girls carrying roses and balloons and oversized stuffed animals from groveling boyfriends. I hate roses. All they do is stink up everything.”

 

“You have no soul.” Prim sniffed at her older sister and carefully tucked the small envelopes she held into her backpack. “Meet you at the bus stop.”

 

Katniss fought to keep a smile from splitting her face at her younger sibling’s superior attitude and heaved a heavy sigh as she grabbed the Valentine’s Day card box her sister insisted she make before plodding to the door. February 14th was her very least favorite day of the year.

 

****

 

By the end of the school day, Katniss wanted nothing more than to go home for the weekend. Irritated by the other girls in her class who tittered and giggled and winked at male classmates, she glared at her nearly non-existent stack of cards that had appeared throughout the day in the decorated box on her desk.

 

“I’m sure you’ll get more.”

 

Katniss startled at the gentle voice to her left. She turned her silver eyes toward her classmate and flipped her thick braid over her shoulder. Peeta Mellark’s blue gaze met hers, and she blushed slightly at the kindness she saw reflected in the azure depths.

 

“I don’t want more,” she retorted with more confidence than she felt and missed his slightly crestfallen expression as she concentrated on her schoolwork.

 

“Okay, Katniss.”

 

She didn’t let herself care that his voice seemed a little more sad and wistful than it had just moments before. Instead, she blocked out the rest of the room until the teacher called her name.

 

“Katniss, are you done with your math?”

 

She glanced at her paper and shrugged. It wasn’t her best work, but all the problems had an answer. Slipping from her desk, she approached the front of the room and passed it to her teacher. She kept her head down as she returned to her chair. The last thing she wanted was to catch the eye of any of the other girls simpering over the “most romantic day of the year.” She’d lost count of the number of times she’d heard that phrase in the past several hours.

 

“What’s this?” she muttered under her breath as she sat. In her brief absence, several more small cards had appeared on her desk as well as a light green envelope with a stack of small chocolates.

 

“I told you,” Peeta offered softly but with conviction. “Everybody wants to surprise you just to see you smile.”

 

She flushed at his words and flashed a grin at him as she considered the foil covered candy. “I didn’t know anyone cared.”

 

“They do,” he answered firmly.

 

****

 

“Katniss! Look what I got!” Prim sprinted toward her sister but stopped short at the happy expression on her older sister’s face. “What happened?”

 

“What do you mean? Why do you think something happened?”

 

Prim narrowed her eyes and scoffed, “You’re smiling. You never smile.”

 

“I always smile when I’m around you, Little Duck.”

 

“I wasn’t here yet, and you were already beaming like the sun. Spill it.”

 

Katniss smirked and giggled. “You’re too grown up for your own good, kiddo.”

 

Prim’s eyes widened as her mouth fell open. “You giggled. You never giggle. You make fun of people who giggle. Seriously! What happened?”

 

Katniss reached into her bag and pulled a lime green envelope from the depths. With an excited grin, she admitted, “This happened.”


End file.
